Connecting devices for rapidly securing one end of a lanyard or chain to a ring such as may be located at the prow of a watercraft, or secured to the collar, halter or harness of animals are in common use. Such devices may employ at one end an eye which is either fixedly or rotatably secured to the body of the connector to which a rope, lanyard or chain is secured. The opposite end of the body is formed as a robust hook, the open mouth of which is generally closable by a gate which is pivotally mounted to the body and spring urged so as to firmly engage the distal end of the hook. It is common to manufacture such devices by several different methods such as forging, moulding or stamping and to manufacture separate components such as the body, the gate and the eye, which are then assembled into the connector.
It is often advantageous during the attachment or release of the bullsnap for the gate to be readily operable by the fingers of the hand in which it is held. In situations where the bullsnap is utilized to secure animals, the user generally must grasp the collar or halter on the animal with one hand so as to position a retaining ring on the collar or halter in an unobstructed alignment for ready engagement with the hook of the bullsnap. The user must then hold the gate of the bullsnap in an open position against the tension of the spring, advantageously with the hand in which it is grasped, in order that the mouth of the hook may be aligned with the retaining ring. It is further advantageous for the gate of the bullsnap to be operable in a manner that keeps ones fingers outside the hook and clear of the opening between the hook and the gate.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a bullsnap in which a gate is pivotally mounted to the body and resiliently urged toward the body so as to firmly engage the distal end of the hook to thereby close the mouth of the hook, and to provide that the gate may be readily opened by rotating the gate in a direction outwardly from the hook and held open against the return biasing force of the spring or other resilient biasing means, by either the thumb or forefinger of the hand of the user in which the bullsnap is grasped.